1538 The black sword strength

So far, everything Layla had tried to do had been insufficient to deal with her opponent. She was at a loss and now, with six Dalki arms coming towards her, the Hannya thought that this might be how things were going to end.

'If I die here now… after having weakened everyone, they will have no chance to take over the place… I would have not just failed everyone but made it worse for the others…'

Looking over at Sam, and feeling the worries of the people behind her, Layla was desperately looking for some way out of the dire situation. Alas, there was no sudden boost in power, or growing emotions that would help her overcome this one.

However, the departure call seemed to resonate with someone, or perhaps it was more correct to say something.

"Let me take over!" The voice shouted, and the black sword in her hand was shaking even more. Layla had figured out where the voice in her head was coming from. The question was should she trust it or give in to the strange power she had heard for the first time.

However, in the end, what other choice did she have? Layla could feel a strange energy coming from the sword itself. She wasn't sure what it meant by 'take over', but she could tell that the weapon wanted her to stop resisting.

She allowed the Qi that had surrounded her body to dissipate, and at the same time, Helen felt the sapping energy disappear. Instead, a strange energy started to run up Layla's arm and circulated throughout her body.

While all of this happened, strange voices began to resonate in the Hannya's head. Layla could hear soul-chilling screams, the sounds of crying that told of a pain like no other. It didn't take her long to start regretting her decision, but at least the sword had not lied to her. While in this state, the Hannya's body was moving on its own.

When she opened her eyes again, she could see herself a few feet away from the humanoid Dalki, and on the ground four of the vine-like limbs had been cut off, green blood pouring from them. It looked like the vines were also somehow linked to Helen's Dalki body, since green blood had spilt from it as well.

"Something's wrong." Helen noted, as the blood continued to drip from the vines and eventually fell on the ground as if they were no longer alive. "How are you suddenly able to cut my hard scales?! Why aren't they regrowing? What is that Cursed Sword?!"

The others who were watching, especially Vincent, were ready to jump in to join the fight. Vincent didn't care what price he would have to pay, he had lived a long life and his current body was nothing but a clone. He couldn't imagine how Quinn would feel if they would have to tell him that they had allowed Layla to die… at the hands of a Dalki version of Helen, no less, while all of them had just stayed by the side.

However, just as he started to move, he could see the sword moving in a perfect circle, and as it hit the strange Dalki vines it ripped through them one by one.

"What is that sword? Is it another Demon tier weapon?" Dennis asked, which was the question on everyone's mind who was watching the same fight. Although Layla had missed it, there was another detail of the sword that had occurred during its attack.

For a brief moment, a strange winged bat symbol had lit up. The others could only guess that it was some type of active skill the sword had used, allowing Layla to do such a thing. Even now, the strange symbol on the hilt was continuing to glow in and out.

"No, that shouldn't be the case. That black sword was a gift from Longblade, but that guy said he didn't really know where it had come from." Logan answered the question. He had only been aware that it could absorb energies, but now that he saw it display so much power, Logan was dying to inspect the weapon in detail.

Although many in the crowd were happy that Layla was finally able to do something, those close to her were concerned as she continued to wince. Unbeknownst to them, her head was bursting with cries and screams of what she could only describe as 'the damned'. They wouldn't stop in Layla's head.

'A small drawback for using me, but if you want to win this fight, then you'll have to endure this much.' The voice resonated inside her.

Her legs continued to move, but Layla wasn't the one who told them to do so. The strange energy that had inhabited her body was controlling it now. She felt in control, but at the same time not, as if someone was giving her orders of what to do, leaving her with little choice but to comply.

At that moment, seeing this, Dalki Helen stomped her foot on the ground. The whole area started to rumble before around thirty of the strange Dalki vine-like hands burst out and were moving about in the air.

"I thought as much." Vincent's eyebrows furrowed, seeing this. "She was holding back the entire time. I wonder if we had continued marching towards the fortress, if we would all be dead right now."

"You might be right in that assessment, but doesn't that warrant another question?" Logan replied. "Why would a Dalki do such a thing? She said she wanted to minimise the casualties… But then why did she want to be entertained by this fight? Shouldn't she have just gone and finished her off?"

The vine arms started to attack, all going towards Layla, but holding the black sword in her hand carefully, the Hannya looked like she was prepared for what was to come. The first vein was sliced at the top, and spinning the sword it shredded through another.

Jumping back at the right time, Layla avoided another blow, and jumped spinning backwards while using her sword to hit another three vines that came at once. As soon as she landed on the ground, she began to run forward and sliced one of the vines right down the middle and continued onward.

Opening her mouth, she blew flames everywhere, covering the area. The others could just see a shadow continuing to fight, and smoke soon after, making it hard to see where the others were.

'It's been such a long time since I was allowed to come out, and you've got such a great body, it's versatile in its skills and strengths!' The sword praised her, only to complain the next second. 'With all these prerequisites… why are you so weak? Why are you hesitating to cut her down? Why didn't you make full use of your powers?'

Jumping through the flames, for the first time, shooting out of her mouth was a black ball. It came out far faster than any of the others before. What's more, in succession, five more were shot out. Each time it hit Dalki Helen, it would unleash a chain of shadows attaching it to the ground, pinning her down.

Still, Helen was able to move through it all, yet the shadow balls continued to come, and as quickly as she was breaking it, more were being unleashed from Layla's mouth restraining the humanoid Dalki more and more.

'You shouldn't have underestimated me. I'm a sword that can cut through anything and I'm a sword that cannot break. You should have won with me alone. As long as you can keep your target still, all you have to do is cut her and you will always win.' The sword whispered to Layla.

She could feel what the sword was doing, using her subclasses' power to consume the negative emotions from within and those around, to produce the constant stream of Spiritual Chains that were keeping her opponent locked down.

Layla thought that since Dalki Helen could break them anyway, this tactic would be useless. Even if she hit Helen, the sword wouldn't pierce through her skin, but the sword had just proven her assumptions completely wrong.

Standing right in front of Dalki Helen, the sword thrust right through the Dalki's chest, twisting it in place. At the same time, the power had stopped there, and the screams had disappeared from her head. Now all she could see was the humanoid Dalki looking at her. The black colour in her eyes was fading, making her look even more human.

"Well… Layla… it looks like… you managed to win… this time. I hope… you finally confessed… to Quinn… and I hope… he is doing well… even after… what happened to… me." Helen spoke with difficulty. Right now, it didn't feel like Layla was killing a Dalki version of Helen. Hearing her speak like that, it felt like she was the real one.

"Depending on when and how the cloning process was done in the extraction. The Dalki might have all the memories of the original." Logan explained. "I saw some instances of this happening during the fight… but I was unsure. I think… this Dalki must have gained the memories for Helen a long time ago. Something that was out of expectation for Graham."

"You finally… grew up… to be… really strong… just like… I knew… you would." Dalki Helen continued, as blood still poured out from her mouth.

Tears were coming down Layla's face as she shook her head.

"No… it wasn't me." Layla admitted, tears rolling down her face. "I-I… left you back there… I should have stayed and helped you fight…I-I'm not the person you think I am."

What was making Layla feel even guiltier was the fact it hadn't been her own power that had defeated Helen. Once again she had lost, even with the use of her soul weapon.

"Don't be… stupid." Helen said, wiping away a tear from the other's face as she walked backwards, forcing the black sword out of her body. "As promised… I will… get rid… of all… the Dalki here."

Turning around, Helen looked at the base, and stomped on the ground once more. Several of the vine-like structures surrounded the base, and the next second, the humanoid Dalki had leaped up towards the fortress.

"NOOOO!" Layla screamed again, yet before she could take a single step, she collapsed onto the ground.

******

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